John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly PC (20 January 1802 – 23 December 1874), known as Sir John Romilly between 1848 and 1866, was an English Whig politician and judge. He served in Lord John Russell's first administration as

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

from 1848 to 1850 and as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

from 1850 and 1851. The latter year he was appointed

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

, a post he held until 1873. Knighted in 1848, he was ennobled as Baron Romilly in 1866.

Early life

Romilly was born in London, the second son of Sir Samuel Romilly and the former Anne Garbett, a daughter of Francis Garbett of Knill Court,

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. After serving as Solicitor-General for England and Wales, his father became a Member of Parliament for

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

, Wareham, Arundel, and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. Among his siblings was sister Sophia Romilly (wife of Thomas Francis Kennedy, MP for Ayr Burghs), and younger brothers Charles Romilly (who married Lady Georgiana Russell, a daughter of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford), Frederick Romilly (who served as MP for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

). He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, in 1827.

Career

Romilly first entered

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1832 as member for Bridport in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, holding the seat from 1832 to 1835 and again from 1846 to 1847. In 1843 he became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

. He was elected Member of Parliament for Devonport in 1847, and was appointed

and knighted in 1848 in Lord John Russell's administration, being promoted to

in 1850. In 1851 he was appointed

, and continued to sit for Devonport until the general election in 1852, when he was defeated. He was the last Master of the Rolls to sit in Parliament. Romilly was raised to the peerage as Baron Romilly, of Barry in the County of Glamorgan, in 1866, and retired from the mastership of the rolls in 1873. He did much to remove the restrictions which had long hampered research among the public records and state papers.

Notable judicial decisions

Notable judicial decisions of Romilly include: ''Norris v Chambres'' (1861) 29 Beav 246, 54 ER 621: whether an equitable lien could be claimed in immovable property overseas against a third party.

Personal life

Lord Romilly married Caroline Charlotte, daughter of the Right Reverend William Otter, in 1833. They had several children, including: * William Romilly, 2nd Baron Romilly (1835–1891), who married Emily Idonea Sophia Le Marchant, eldest daughter of Lt.-Gen. Sir John Le Marchant, in 1865. After her death in 1866, he married Helen Denison, eldest daughter of Edward Hanson Denison, in 1872. * Hon. Edward Romilly (1838–1886), a barrister who married Edith Mary Cowie (d. 1880), second daughter of Benjamin Morgan Cowie, Dean of Manchester, in 1871. * Hon. Henry Romilly (1845–1886), who married Edith Rathbone, eldest daughter of Bernard Rathbone, in 1878. After his death in 1886, she married Thomas Northcote Toller of Lansdowne House in

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburb of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of ...

in 1889. * Hon. Arthur Romilly, barrister (1850–1884), who married Flora Schellbach (d. 1937), second daughter of Prof Schellbach of Berlin, in 1877. * Hon. Anne Romilly (d. 1913), who married Clement Tudway Swanston QC (d. 1879) in 1861. * Hon. Mary Romilly (d. 1921), who married Gen. Sir Lothian Nicholson KCB,

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of ...

(d. 1893) in 1864. * Hon. Sophie Romilly (–1895) * Hon. Lucy Henrietta Romilly (d. 1923), who married Henry Crompton (d. 1904), second son of Charles John Crompton in 1870. Lady Romilly died in December 1856. Lord Romilly died in London on 23 December 1874, aged 72, and was succeeded in the barony his eldest son, William. He is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

, London.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly, John 1802 births 1874 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Bridport Attorneys general for England and Wales Solicitors general for England and Wales UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs who were granted peerages Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Burials at Brompton Cemetery Members of Gray's Inn Masters of the Rolls Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council People associated with the National Archives (United Kingdom) Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria John